FROM 90 TO 163 IN 12 MONTHS

As we entered 2018 my fundraising achievement was at 90% of the target, with two and a half years to go. I hit 100% in early February and now stand at 163%. I shall be very disappointed to not get to 200% by the end of 2019.

Within an hour of my last fundraising talk in November, I had completely lost my voice due to a virus, It did not return until 4 days later, and has been very temperamental ever since. I had to cancel the other 3 talks I had booked this year. Fortunately, it now seems as if it may be able to stand up to the 2019 campaign, which starts in mid-January.

I have mentioned the Strandloper before - he who thrusts money into my hand almost every time we encounter him during our morning walks. He was at it again yesterday, and his latest £10 donation is already on its way to Pancreatic Cancer UK. Another note - this time £20, flew into my hand this morning from that of Michael Whittaker, a spinning colleague at the local YMCA. Michael's mother suffers from pancreatitis and he spends much of his time looking after her.

The picture is of a wonderful canal tunnel I walked through near Rugby, during my epic walk from the Pyrenees to the Pennines (and on a bit).

NOW NUDGING £25,000 RAISED FOR Pancreatic Cancer UK

Yesterday evening we travelled the short distance to the Marriott Hotel near Preston to Talk The Walk to Preston Amounderness Rotary.

I like talking to Rotaries. Not only do we get a free meal but the relaxed atmosphere this induces, before the talk proper, means we get to know people in a little more depth than at other talks.

Unfortunately, because it becomes an after-dinner speech, most Rotaries restrict the speaker to 25 or 30 minutes. I cannot give my talk in less than an hour and could easily extend it to two hours - after all, I am talking about more than two years of effort and more than 17 and a half million steps covered.

The talk went down well, as usual, we raised £155, and noticed that several members asked for my business card so that they could draw the attention of other clubs, presumably those would mainly be Rotaries.

I am now very close to having raised £25,000 for this vital cause. I have many talks booked for 2019 and am confident of raising much more.

160% SO FAR

Last week I gave a talk in the library at Poulton-le-Fylde. It was the first time I have spoken in this small town since 1955, when I left Baines' Grammar School, not far from the library.

Schools were not averse to corporal punishment in those days, as many a bruised boy could attest. So I was always a bit surprised that the school did not make use of the mediaeval stocks (pictured) in the town square.

Another claim to fame of Poulton is the almost complete 12,000 year-old skeleton of an elk, discovered in nearby Carleton by the other grandfather of two of my grandchildren. It is particularly exciting for historians because of the hunting barbs which were still embedded in the bones. It can be seen in the Harris Museum in Preston.

The talk went down well, despite the beckoning sunshine outside. It was a small room but it was full, and the audience was receptive. My fundraising for Pancreatic Cancer UK hit 160% of my target, with still almost 2 years to go.

I have four more talks scheduled in the rest of this year and over twenty lined up already for 2019.

DRAMA IN THE COURTHOUSE - VERDICT OVERTURNED

Yesterday evening we drove down to Worsley Court House to Talk The Walk to a ladies' club.

As usual, the talk went down very well and we met some splendid people, who gave us a great welcome.

As is frequently the case, before I was due to speak, they had a meeting about their own business. It was clear that they had £300 swishing about, which had been destined for a charity which had somehow or other disappeared. They had a vote about which other charity to send this money to and decided on a specific one.

When I had finished my talk, they had another huddle and overturned the previous decision and instead gave the money to me, for Pancreatic Cancer UK.

The speaker fee and some individual donations meant that we came away from the meeting with a good £375 for PCUK's vital work in funding research to try to find a cure and a better way of diagnosing this dreadful illness.

This second phase of my fundraising now stands at more than 118% of the target I set, and I am still more than two years early.

Next gig, Clitheroe U3A, in early June. Open to the public.

The photo of Worsley Court House is by Barrie Priice - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30680194